Lucky or Not
by Authenti
Summary: A blue puffball gets to know Marx before and after Nova. Slight Marx X OC, but I keep it canon.
1. Lost

Popstar attracted all sorts. Lately, there had been many newcomers – star warriors, nomads, and demon beasts alike – who all seemed to appear out of nowhere. Perhaps it was because of the recent occurrences with that pink ball, how Kirby always seemed to save the day. Well, whatever it was, people were flocking to Popstar for excitement. Or maybe peace. You never could tell nowadays.

Lucky wasn't one of them. She'd crash-landed here ages ago and was well-known among the populace for being sweet and kind, though worse than useless in a crisis. The sky-blue puffball didn't ask for much. A quiet life; with only her purple, fur-lined hat with its little gold jingly bell; and her bizarre little pink taped-on wings. Maybe the approval of the people who had lived on the planet in the first place.

That was all she wanted. But, being a useless mechanic, she was stranded here, and had to take everything as it came. Kirby's various adventures scared her. She didn't want any part of it. However, the earthquakes, the fight between the sun and moon, bright lights in the sky, monsters everywhere and of course the pink ball's own silly antics left her running around all over the place trying to stay out of trouble.

Before all this, she met Marx.

***

Lucky headed for the big tree on the hill. It was her favourite place right now. Under its shady branches she usually took a quick, quiet nap… Today, she wasn't so lucky as her name would suggest.

Upon making it to the top of the hill, she came across a familiar jester-hatted individual sitting in her usual spot. This slightly ticked her off, but no matter, she'd just climb the tree today instead.

Offering him a smile as she passed by (which he did not return), she slipped round to the back of the tree trunk, looking for an easy way up. To her dismay, there wasn't one. And the ground was not comfortable here.

At all.

Lucky gave a knot in the bark pattern a reproachful look, and walked back round the tree. A short, stifled sniffle caught her attention. It was that jester person. She immediately turned and seated herself quietly beside him, as if she'd meant to do that all along.

"Hey… Are you alright?"

There was a very long silence, in which his eyes welled up slowly but surely with tears. He blinked and they fell to the ground.

"Y-yeah," he choked.

"I think you got something in your eye," she smiled. He gave her an icy look. "Sorry. It's the excuse everyone usually gives. So what happened that made you upset?" Lucky didn't feel awkward asking. She asked this question a lot, in hundreds of different forms. She felt it was her duty to help anyone she could. Maybe it was built in to her DNA. Often, however, she was not very good at it.

"I lost something," he replied, finally.

"Oh?"

Another, though shorter, pause before he spoke again. "…A ball. I think a monster took it."

"Oh."

"And I can't get it back."

"Mm…?"

"Because there's just no way I could track it down." By this point he was crying again. Lucky put one hand on his head, smiling vaguely.

"I'll find it. I'm good at finding things."

He got up and wandered off, looking disgruntled. "You'll never find it."

"Where will you be when I do find it?" she called after him. He didn't answer for a while. She got up to leave.

"By the tree," he yelled back, and headed into the woods at the far side of the meadow. Lucky smiled happily. She usually got them to open up eventually.


	2. Found

Long story short, she found the ball. Lucky was, as she'd said, good at finding things. She was also exceptionally brilliant at losing them, but on this occasion she managed to keep hold of it long enough to return it.

"He-ey!" she shouted, trying to steady the ball as she moved it uphill to the meeting-place. "Is this the one you wanted? I - aw, no-" The ball slipped to the side and rolled back down the hill. She chased after it and managed to dodge round the thing and halt it before it got too far. "Got it! 'S okay!"

"Aah! You really found it!" came the resulting cry, and the jester practically leapt down the hill to her side. He got behind it and helped her push it up the hill, then they wedged it between two tree roots and Lucky staggered away to fall back against the tree and slide down to a seated position.

"Feh. Glad that's over with. I'm Lucky, by the way."

He hesitated. "You mean name, or nature?"

"Both, I reckon!" She laughed, though she was out of breath, and he nodded with a smile.

"I'm Marx. Ah… Sorry about yesterday. I was just…"

"…Upset. I know. It's fine, really." She patted the ground beside her, and Marx sat down there.

"Thanks. For finding the ball, I mean."

"You're quite welcome. It was worth seeing another smile today. No one ever seems happy any more."

Marx nodded. "I'd change that."

Lucky glanced at him. He had a distant look in his eyes.

"How?"

"I mean, if I could. I think Popstar would do better if someone organised everything better."

She laughed softly. "You think you could do it?"

He shot her an odd look. "Why not?"

"Well, people might not like it. I'm sure the Waddle Dees would fall in line. But the other residents might like the chaos."

He smirked. "Not like they'd have a choice in the matter," he mumbled. She heard him, unfortunately.

"I, for one, would be all for a little peace and quiet. But how would you get them to comply?"

Marx stood up and approached his ball, which he leapt onto enthusiastically. Flashing her a grin, he provoked her into rushing over and giving it an almighty boot. It rolled down the hill after mere seconds, but Marx was too used to the thing to fall off that easily. He slowed it down about halfway to the bottom, and then walked it backwards down the hill, sticking his tongue out at her.

"Haha! You're good at that!"

"Really?" He seemed surprised that she'd even commented. She nodded. "It's not… hard or anything."

"I've tried it. It is. Or maybe I just have no balance." She laughed again. "But then if that was true, I wouldn't be able to do this." She flipped onto her head and used her hands to support herself, then moved forwards that way and made it to the edge of the hill before she freaked out and rolled onto her feet again. "Bleh. I used to be able to do it better."

Marx reached the flat grass and Lucky ran to catch up with him. "I guess I can tell you. I read about a… a star. A mechanical star, called Nova. Looks kind of like clockwork, or something. It's supposed to grant wishes." He watched her closely, gauging her reaction. She chewed on her hand (a nervous habit) and thought deeply for a while as they moved leisurely along the path. The sun was fairly hot today, and it was making her hat annoyingly like a greenhouse. She pulled it off and folded it up, carrying it with her instead.

"I've heard lots of stories about that sort of thing. It only ends in tragedy. Someone wants power, someone wants riches, someone wants love… it always ends badly. It ends up being too much temptation for the wisher to handle, and the wish goes wrong because their mind gets corrupt."

"It'd be different. I'm too smart for that. I know exactly what I want out of it, so I'm set."

"I don't know if it works that way."

They moved on in silence for a few minutes, just letting each other think.

"Where are we going, by the way?" Lucky enquired. Marx shot her a look of disbelief.

"I thought you knew!"

"No, I was following you."

"I was following _you_."

Then they both simultaneously went: "…Right. You lead."

"Fine," Lucky huffed, and pulled forwards so she was walking slightly ahead of Marx. "We're going to my house."

"What? Why?"

"Because, Marx, I'm hungry and I'm a good cook and I think I left the oven on and I bought lollipops."

"…Right. Makes perfect sense." He rolled his eyes. She stuck her foot under the ball and he all but flew off it onto a patch of soft moss. "Ye-arf!"


	3. Lollipops

Marx eyed the huge lollipop she'd offered him sceptically. It was unnaturally gaudy and bright – red and blue, swirling dizzyingly into the centre. The rest was white. She seemed to be enjoying her translucent pink one, however. He put the edge of it into his mouth and hopped off the chair.

"Wow."

"Nice, eh?"

Marx nodded hesitantly. "Really… sugary." _And in the way, _he thought, taking care not to trip over the stick. This was the problem with being short… Still, it was delicious, he couldn't help but admit that.

"I actually made these myself. Took forever to get 'em just right, but I think I did quite well in the end. Better than store-bought, anyway. Cappies just genuinely have no idea about sweets."

"I'm impressh'd," he managed to say, teeth still clamped to the edge of the lollipop. He'd have elaborated, but that would probably mean dropping it.

"Sorry, I know I made them too big. It'll wear down. Brush your teeth after, though." She grinned and headed for the door of the one-roomed cottage. Raising a foot, she kicked it open and energetically dodged outside to the rope swing; its seat was wide and flat, made of sanded-down wood, and it hung on the thickest branch of a shady tree in the garden. Which was full of tiny forget-me-nots for some reason.

_Feh. Girls and their flowers._ Marx followed her outside and nudged the door closed behind him. She was standing behind the swing, and she patted the seat with a smile.

"Hop on."

"I'm… not really into-" And that was when she grabbed his hat and practically dragged him onto the swing, producing a cry of surprise from him – though he somehow managed to stay clamped to the lollipop. "Argh! Okay, okay!"

He felt his insides turn somersaults as she gave the seat an almighty shove with her foot, and found himself squeezed up against the rope as she took hold of the other side and clung on tightly, using her weight to give them more height and speed.

"Rock with me, or it won't work," she commanded. He sighed resignedly and gave in, leaning with her to build up momentum. "Okay, we're high enough – keep doing that, though – right – see over there? Just over the treetops, you can see the cliffs and the sea."

"Ah…?"

"Right there, where the cliffs peak up a bit. See it?"

He squinted at the place she was pointing. There was the rock layer… but what was that? "I think I see what you mean…"

"Good. Well, it's my quiet place. No one knows I go there, but everyone has a place like that nowadays, all over Popstar." Marx nodded. He tended to stay near that tree they'd been near earlier, whenever he wanted peace and quiet. It was a wonder they'd never met there before yesterday. "I keep a stash of books there, and I go there to think sometimes."

They stayed silent for a while, and slowed down the swing a little until the cliffs were out of sight behind the nearby forest tree line.

"I won't tell anyone."

Lucky smiled at this, and hopped off the swing backwards. "I was hoping you'd say that. I was planning on going there today – you can come if you like." Her amber eyes seemed somehow imploring, hopeful. He couldn't think why.

"I think that would be nice." By this time, the lollipop had dwindled to a manageable size. He crunched a small piece off the edge and finally smiled at Lucky – the first genuinely positive expression he'd used since she found that ball for him.

Lucky looked relieved for some reason. She returned the smile encouragingly and set off down the path and out of the gate, holding it open for him when he retrieved the ball from a small dip in the lawn and leapt atop it quickly.

"I wish I could do that."

"Eh. I think it probably runs in the family. I wouldn't know."

"Didn't know your parents, eh…? Me neither. It's like everyone on Popstar has some kind of tragic past, though. So I prefer not knowing." She shrugged nonchalantly and led the way down the path. "Where do you live, by the way?"

Marx smirked. "I don't. I travel a lot. I don't go far from this region unless I have to, but I have most of what I need right here anyway." It was a common answer. Really, he'd thought about settling somewhere. But nowhere had ever really felt right. He wanted to see the planet from space, and if his dream to find Nova ever took him there, he figured that's where he'd stay.

"What are you looking for?" Lucky asked suddenly, her expression unreadable. He frowned and focused on the lollipop which was still stuck in his mouth. She was holding hers. He envied her dexterity.

"Nova," he said simply. "Though how you'd _know_ I was even searching for anything is beyond me."

"You have that look in your eyes." Her own eyes were closed, though she seemed to know this path well enough not to trip. "The look that means you know your goal in life. Those who do… end up wandering like you said, more often than not, so I put two and two together." She smiled dryly. "I got five, but that's beside the point."

------------

"OMG. Authenti. Shut up. We know Marx is awesome but jeez he doesn't have to be in every chapter!"

I knoooow. Next chapter will pick up a bit from the monotonous pace I'm setting right now. xD Sorry about the slow start. I'm working on it! 3


	4. Books

The path tapered in places, and opened out again in others; it wasn't too well-trodden, but that meant Lucky's house was rarely stumbled upon. She liked it better when it was this secluded.

The route to the cliff was more or less straight; they made it there in under an hour and chatted along the way. Marx had already finished his lollipop by the time they got there, though Lucky's was now the size of a bottlecap.

"We're here – wait a sec, is that…?" Lucky stopped walking suddenly, and Marx wasn't able to stop the ball in time. It bumped lightly against her back – just enough to shake him off – and he tumbled on top of her before they both hit the deck.

"Ouch."

"Sorry…"

"What'd you stop for? That kinda hurt!"

She shushed him and stood up, yanking him to his feet by the left hand side of his jester hat. She then pointed ahead.

There was a lone figure standing there, shoulder guards glinting in the sunlight and cloak drifting to the right as a breeze passed over the grass.

"It's… Sir Meta Knight, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I knew he came here as well, but I didn't think we'd ever cross paths." She sighed. "And I'm still not sure what to do about it. Should we go back?"

"Don't be such a baby. He's not scary or anything." Marx laughed and hopped back onto his ball, rolling it gently back and forth to keep his balance steady.

Lucky shot him a disapproving glance. "Not true. No one's ever seen his face. It's creepy. He might have huge fangs or something. You can't tell."

"Meh."

"What d'ya mean, 'meh'!?"

"Excuse me. I heard you bickering and came to investigate. Is something the matter?"

Lucky flinched. Marx just grinned at her. _He saw Meta Knight coming up behind me, and wanted to make me get all fired up and look stupid. Ha, ha, ha. Hilarious._ She shakily turned round and came face-to-face with the masked knight.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't exactly mean that."

Meta Knight's eyes flashed pink for a moment, but he turned before they saw. "No matter. I'm not removing my mask for you two. Now, I assume you were planning on watching the ocean?" He stepped back towards the cliff edge. The way he'd spoken seemed to invite them to follow, so they did.

"I usually come here to think," Lucky explained. "But I saw you were here and didn't want to disturb you, so…"

"And what of you, Marx?" Meta Knight didn't turn round to look at him, but Marx was used to his aloof behaviour.

"I didn't know you'd be here either. Lucky invited me along."

The sky-blue puffball stared at them both, orange eyes moving from one to the other. "Wait. You two already know each other?"

"He wants to find Nova too. That's about the only reason we've met, though. Not like we have regular tea parties and cake."

Meta Knight chuckled softly, eyes flashing pink again. Marx smirked, showing off a solitary fang which Lucky hadn't realised was even there before.

For a while, they were silent – just watching the waves crashing onto the cliff far below. Meta Knight was staring at the horizon, where the sun was sinking lower in the sky and casting their shadows long and dark against the grass.

"Don't let me interrupt if you came to retrieve a book. That is why you normally come here, is it not?" Meta Knight turned in Lucky's direction, and gave her an unreadable look. Her eyes widened.

"You know about that?"

"I'm a hardened warrior. It's natural that I'd notice the crevice right under the place I come to stand every day."

"Right, sorry." She had a creeping suspicion that was not the reason, though. "Or maybe you just watched me swing under there one day. Is that right?" She smiled. Meta Knight didn't reply, but he shifted uneasily now that his ruse had been uncovered.

Lucky laughed and slammed a hand down on the edge of the cliff, gauging the right place before doing a handstand and swinging down over the edge, curving under the rocky overhang and disappearing from sight. Marx looked somewhat alarmed, but once he leapt down from his ball and approached the cliff edge he spied the tips of her blush-pink wings vanishing under the rocks and heard an echo of her feet touching down on a cave floor.

A minute later, and she reappeared with a heavy-looking book. Inhaling quickly, she floated clumsily out of the cave entrance and batted at the air until she reached the clifftops. She had not, however, calculated how much the book would weigh her down. Blinking, she seemed to falter in midair and cough as the stress from heaving the tome up with her became too much, then began to drop like a stone as she was weighed down by the book.

"Gah! No! It's too important to drop!" she squealed, panicking.

Meta Knight's attention seemed to have been caught. A sword was dropped out of its scabbard, sparkling and crackling with energy, but it fell to the grass as its owner shed his metal shoulder guards as well. His cape and mask left on, the knight pounced over the edge and freefell. He was heaver than the younger puffball and caught up quickly.

As Marx looked on, Meta Knight's cape rippled and then suddenly twisted into batlike wings as the navy puffball grabbed Lucky's hand and managed to slow them both to a halt in midair.

"Idiot," he hissed. "Know your limitations." Beating his wings swiftly, he began the ascent again.

"Sorry. And thank you. The book would have been ruined if I'd just let it drop, and it's got… erm… sentimental value," she lied. That wasn't it. She wanted to give the book to Marx. It had a faded picture of Nova in it somewhere, though she couldn't decipher the terrible handwriting. She figured it was someone's journal. Someone who'd tried to find Nova. And maybe succeeded.

They landed on the clifftop. Marx was standing over Galaxia. Staring at it. He had a strange look in his eyes.

Meta Knight snatched his hand back from Lucky and retrieved his shoulder guards. He didn't look round, but his words were aimed at Marx. "No one can wield that sword but for a select few. I advise against touching it." He finished with his shoulder guards and paced over. Marx didn't reply, but blinked as if coming out of a trance when Meta Knight retrieved the sword.

"It's powerful," he said finally. "Very powerful."

"Only in the right hands. I suggest you take care to remember this if you find the comet." He turned, his mood somewhat dampened, and strode away after sheathing Galaxia.

Lucky sighed. "It's getting late and I just scared myself half to death. Where are you staying tonight?"

Marx hopped back onto his ball. It was his comfort zone, and something about that sword had unnerved him deeply. And yet… it sent a thrill through him to think of how much power it radiated.

"I'll find somewhere in Whispy Woods," he replied, already steering the ball away from the cliffs. Lucky yawned widely and plonked the book on her head so it didn't get in her way.

"Naw, come with me. You can stay at my place."

"I prefer sleeping outdoors," he snapped, and picked up the pace.

The sky-blue puffball couldn't help but yawn yet again, and set off walking in the direction of her cottage. "Fine. I suppose you won't want this book about Nova either, will you?" She smirked as the faint tapping of Marx's feet on the ball stopped still for a moment, then grew louder as he rushed over to her side.

"What."

"This book, right here. It has a picture of Nova stuck in about halfway through, and there's a lot of writing that I don't understand."

"_What_."

"I'll show you when we get to my place."

Marx strayed uncomfortable close, peering over her head with the height the ball gave him and reading the text on the front.

It read: "PURSUIT."


	5. Gone

"Marx. You've been poring over that book for days. Take a break."

Marx ignored her and just flipped the page with one foot. He was somewhere near the middle of the tome, having had to translate the whole thing by himself. But it was already helping him. For instance, he'd learned that to summon the comet, stars would have to be collected. The previous owner of the journal seemed to have found one, which is what inspired him to seek Nova in the first place…

"Marx, are you listening to me?"

"Hm, what?"

"You look kind of… pale. Are you alright?" Lucky shut the oven on the cherry pie she was baking in there and approached the table Marx was sitting at, her feet squeaking on the clean floor.

"Never better – hey!" She dragged the book across the table, away from him, and marked the page with a spoon before slamming it shut and sitting on top of it. "What the heck was that for!?"

"Don't snap at me like that. You need to go do something else for a while. Reading about Nova is making you crazy."

He gave her a reproachful look and set his teeth, about to yell at her. Something seemed to click, though. He calmed down quickly. _I never used to get riled up so easily… What if she's right? Maybe I do need some time off, after all._

"Sorry," he muttered, and turned to step down from his seat.

Lucky watched him leave, and her eyes glinted with worry. Any mention of Nova seemed to have a magnetic effect on Marx – and it was getting worse the more of that book he read. She thought she understood why, too; if you hope for something too much, you become obsessed with it and forget about all else. _This whole thing is changing him._

---

Two days later, the sun and moon clashed in the sky. Marx spoke less, and read more often. Occasionally he'd insist upon leaving, but only to watch Kirby as the pink puffball adventured about.

"Hey, Marx," Lucky asked at one point. "Why do you keep watching him? What's he doing that's so interesting?"

Marx had given her an unnaturally reassuring grin and edged away. "Nothing, really. He's just… I… He's trying to stop the sun and moon from fighting. You know how famous he is. Always has to go save the world!" He gave a forced laugh and refused to speak of it again, always excusing himself and wandering off before she could get any information out of him.

Still, not like she expected it. She'd known him for about a week at most. Probably less. But the change taking place in Marx was undeniable, even in such a short space of time.

Eventually, he finished the book entirely and Lucky woke up one morning to find it closed on the table. Waddle Doo was waiting outside, but Marx himself was nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning," she smiled, but Waddle Doo jumped in front of her and saluted.

"Morning… Lucky, is it? Your jester-hatted friend left this morning. He told me to tell you that… what was it…" He pondered for a moment. "Something about having 'found a pathway to the stars' and some metaphors and stuff. He mentioned something called 'Nova', but he was too excited and he left before-"

"He's gone?"

"Ya. Took a Warp Star, according to one of the Waddle Dees. Chances are you won't be seeing him around Popstar any more."

Lucky frowned. So he'd left without saying goodbye. _How very rude of him,_ she told herself, but the truth was that she wasn't angry. She nodded to Waddle Doo, who bowed and left.

Lucky sighed and headed along that familiar, comfortable path to the sea cliffs. Meta Knight was there again. It was the first time she'd seen him there again since their last meeting. The sky-blue puffball was feeling too alone to pick up that imposing feeling from him this time. Any company was welcome.

She stepped up to the cliff beside him, simply sitting down there and staring out at the horizon. Minutes passed like hours.

A gloved hand on her shoulder. It stayed there for a few seconds, a reassuring weight, and then Meta Knight was gone.


	6. Recovery

Lucky knew what was coming. She'd read about it in so many different stories, it had to be true. And now it was happening just as she'd predicted.

Marx had let the promise of power get to his head. Changed into a demon. Got himself killed. And then tried for revenge, and failed again.

Lucky steeled herself for the gossip, the buzz, the natural disasters that followed the sun and moon's argument (and prompt recovery). The praise that Kirby received. The insults people were throwing at Marx and Nova, jokingly, but still irritating. Now that they knew the danger was gone, people were trying to lighten up; she didn't blame them, after what Popstar had been through.

So it was that two days after Soul Marx's defeat, Lucky heard a faint tap on her door. Heading to answer it, she hesitated just three steps away from the handle. If it was Kirby, she couldn't trust herself not to kick him and run. Still. It wasn't polite to ignore anyone.

She eased open the door, and her gaze fell upon a rather ragged figure swaying on his feet woozily, a ripped-up jester hat and a torn bow tie.

"Oh my goodness." She leapt forwards to catch him as he collapsed forwards right on her doorstep. "Oh my goodness."

"You were right," he choked. Tears fell to the floor. "You were _right_."

"Shut up, Marx." She felt him go limp, unconscious, and managed to heave him inside. Lucky let him have her bed. There was no way she'd sleep tonight anyway.

---

The first thing he noticed upon waking was the smell of laundry. It was faint, but it was there. And under it? Cherries. Something smelled of cherries.

He opened his eyes, and immediately shut them again to block out the glare from the window. Easing himself into the light again, he made an attempt to get up and winced. He hurt all over. Something tasted of blood.

He had something on his forehead. It was cold and damp. A cloth.

"You awake?" a female voice murmured from somewhere to his left. "Thank heavens. You've been out for nearly three days, Marx."

Marx?

…Right. That was him. Of course. How could he forget?

He looked to the left. It was that light blue puffball again, the one with the hat and the little pink wings taped to her back. What was her name? He stared at her dazedly for a while, and she smiled back at him. He knew that smile. It was Lucky, wasn't it? When had he last seen her?

"Budge," she commanded, helping him into a sitting position. Everything _hurt._ Why did everything hurt?

**Nova.**__The thought blazed through his mind and suddenly gave rise to the rest of his memories all at once. He'd wished for… for Popstar. And he'd got it. But… he never wanted it like that. Not like _that_. What had gone wrong?

No. For a split second, he _had _wanted Popstar like that. To rule everything. Ultimate power. Power to rule everywhere else, if he'd had the time. But then Kirby… Kirby had… what? Defeated him?

The word probably worked for other people. It didn't, for Marx. It wasn't a defeat. Truly, Kirby had saved him from… himself, of course.

"Drink this, or you'll dehydrate." Lucky held a glass of water to his mouth. He drank it obediently, and she smiled before taking the glass away to refill it, stick a straw in it and put it on the cabinet beside the bed.

"Well? Say something." The blue puffball looked tired. Very tired. But happy, somehow.

"I'm… sorry," he mumbled, his voice cracking. His throat hurt, too. Probably from screaming when... He shuddered involuntarily.

Lucky laughed quietly and crossed the room to the table in the middle. The book was still there, gathering dust. Giving it a wistful glance, she decided not to move it now. She hadn't even touched it since Marx left it there. _I'll move it later._ She reached for the bowl of cherries in the middle. It must have been wider than a dinner plate, but it had a mountain of cherries on it. She'd picked them all earlier, in a nice little grove in the forest.

"Don't be sorry. Just remember that 'I told you so' doesn't quite cut it."

Marx felt tears welling up again. They fell to the bedcovers, beginning to soak them. "No, really. I thought I could handle it… thought you were wrong."

"Calm down, Marx, I'm wrong about a lot of things, a lot of the time. I wouldn't trust my opinion either."

"I mean I'd rather not have come back at all," he said hoarsely. "I wish I'd just stayed dea-MMPH!" She'd shoved about five cherries into his mouth. Whatthehellseriously.

"Shut up, Marx. Stop moping. When you get better, everything will go back to normal. Though, I suggest getting off Popstar as soon as possible since a lot of people will still bear a grudge here." She smiled annoyingly and put a bowl of cherries on the bed beside him. "De-stoned. Which is why it smells so much of cherries in here." Lucky nodded sagely at this piece of wisdom.

Marx gave her a depressingly annoyed look.

"Oh, and Marx?"

"Mfgh?"

"Guess what."

"Mrrf…?"

"This." She leapt up to the bed and planted a kiss on his cheek, then dropped down again and trotted over to the kitchen humming. "Get well soon, Marx."

***

Author's Comments

Lol, pairings. I try to avoid this usually. But sometimes I just can't help it. xD

Also, I have a picture of Lucky on deviantART. It's in the same picture as Marx, coincidentally. Did it in iScribble. Wewt. 8D

So yeah, I think the link is in my profile. I set my homepage address to my dA account. :D Just in case ya need a visual reference.


	7. Grey

Something changed within Marx in the next three days.

Lucky had thought he'd make a full recovery, but… she couldn't quite understand the problem. He was different, somehow. Not… natural? She had no idea how to think about any of this.

For starters, he was too quiet. He had only spoken when she offered him a drink or food, and that was to decline both.

Then there was the matter of how he spent long hours unconscious. Not asleep; he always had a strange, pained expression on his face, and even when she threw water over his face he refused to wake.

Right now, though, he was staring motionlessly out of the window.

"Marx?"

No response.

"Marx, I think you should eat something."

"I'm fine."

"No, Marx, no you're not 'fine'. Have you even seen yourself? You're as pale as a ghost. At least have a drink of water or something."

"I'm _fine._"

Lucky paced the room restlessly. He watched her in silence. His eyes were different, too, she noticed. They didn't shine any more. They were just… empty. With a start, she realised they'd turned grey as well.

Okay, now she was getting freaked out. "I'm going to have a look in that book. If anything, at least it'll be more interesting than you are." _If anything, I can find out why you're acting so weird. It must have something to do with Nova._

Marx said nothing in reply. Lucky sighed and took a seat, dragging the heavy journal towards her across the table and opening it with some effort.

_Let's see, now… If there's anything in here about what's happened to Marx, it'll be at the back, after the writer summoned Nova._ She flipped through the pages, quickly scanning them as she went. It slowly dawned on her that the handwriting made no sense to her.

"Marx, exactly how much of this did you translate?"

"All."

"What, the entire thing? Wasn't any of it in our language?"

"No."

She took a deep breath and then exhaled, resting her forehead on the side of the table. "I'm taking it with me to the library in Cappy Town. Maybe someone there can translate it for me. Or I'll find a dictionary that matches."

---

"So what part exactly do you need to translate?" the librarian asked. Lucky hesitated.

"It'd be useful to do the whole thing, but I don't have the time. I think what I'm looking for is in the last bit, though."

He gave her a disapproving look and jabbed at one of the pages. "Always best to start with the contents page," he huffed. Grabbing hold of the seat of the chair she was on, he shunted it out of the way and pulled up another so he was sitting in front of the book instead. "Anything in particular you're looking for?"

"Yes. There should be a section about what happens if…" She paused. "Yes. What happens if Nova is damaged during a wish."

"Tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"Come back," he said painstakingly, "tomorrow."

"Oh, of course."

---

"…Marx?"

_Oh, great, now he's invading my dreams as well. This is just what I bloody need._

They both seemed to be floating in nothingness – just a mass of coal-black _nothing _that didn't make things any darker but didn't have any detail either.

Marx was facing away from her, but even from this angle she could see that for some reason he was entirely in monochrome. This unnerved her.

"Marx, is that you?"

"Oh!" He turned quickly. "Lucky!"

"What the hell are you doing in my dream?"

"I… What? I don't know…"

Lucky noted the frightened expression he had on his face. "Something wrong?"

"I… I'm stuck," he stated simply. She gave him a blank look. "I'm stuck here. At first I thought it was just a nightmare, but now I can't seem to wake up properly…"

"What?"

Marx bit his lip, eyes watering. "Do something," he whined. "I think Nova is- what… what are you doing?"

"I think I'm waking up. It's morning." The vision began to fade.

"Don't leave! I don't – I don't know what to do!"

Everything vanished. For five minutes, she lay still. Something about that dream had unnerved her. What with all the hocus-pocus Nova had discharged when it broke up, she couldn't be sure if it _was_ just a dream.

Only one way to find out.

Lucky's eyes snapped open. It was light outside, and there was a sunbeam across her face. The sudden change of light hurt her eyes, and she slipped out of bed (actually, she'd been sleeping on a set of fluffy pillows). The light must be what woke her. She slipped on her hat and found another roll of tape which she used to stick the toy wings to her back once more. While she was fiddling around trying to find the loose end of the tape, she couldn't help giving a furtive glance in the direction of Marx's bed.

He looked like he was asleep at first glance, but although his eyes were closed he was biting… biting his lip… just like…

"I need to get to the library," she hissed.


	8. Weapon

"…Marx? Wake up." No response. "Wake up, damn it." She shook him gently. He did nothing. "Damn it," she repeated, and left him on his bed to go read the part of the book the librarian had translated for her.

A long, arduous silence followed. Her mildly irritated expression turned to one of shock, and the more pages she turned, the more that creeping feeling that something had gone terrible wrong kept crawling into her head.

Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. She cursed loudly as she fell sideways off her chair, and scrambled to her feet. "Come in!"

The latch wasn't down; in her hurry to get the book home, she'd forgotten to set it. The door swung open, and Meta Knight stepped quietly inside. He remained by the door, but even from here she realised his cape was torn in places, and… was that a crack in his mask?

"Oh, no, not you too," she muttered under her breath. "I already have to look after Marx, I can't bloody well magic you both better."

"I did not come here for your hospitality," he growled. "There is something wrong with Nova. I thought Marx might be able to explain." Lucky glanced at the hilt of his sword, on which his hand was resting.

"Violence won't help you there, I'm afraid. There's something wrong with Marx, too. And from what I'm reading in the book, there's a link."

Meta Knight approached her, eyes flashing red for a split second. "Tell me."

_Aren't we snappy today?_ "Come here," she commanded, and pulled a chair out for him. "This might take some explaining."

---

"To recap… Nova is using Marx's energy to rebuild itself, since Marx was the last one to wish. If a wish goes wrong, then according to this book Nova will fix itself by any means necessary." Lucky straightened her hat and took a worried glance at Marx. "The translation isn't clear, but…"

"…But his soul is in danger." Meta Knight nodded. "I understand now. Forgive me for being hasty before." Lucky shook her head and smiled weakly. This whole thing was really starting to get to her. "I collected the necessary stars. I've been meaning to make a wish of my own for some time now, and so when Nova didn't respond to the summon I got angry."

"The question is, what do we do? I'm not leaving him like this." She sighed deeply and thought suddenly of how he'd looked in her dream last night. Scared, and alone.

"We seek out Nova." Meta Knight hopped down from the chair and headed for the door. "I will find Kirby. He may be able to help."

"I thought you two hated each other?"

"The feeling isn't mutual. He will do as I ask." The knight slipped through the door. "We meet in space, directly over Cappy Town. Use a Warp Star."

"What do I do about Marx?"

Meta Knight was already gone. _I should leave him here. If he wakes up in front of Nova, I doubt he'll be happy._

If he wakes up.

This thought replayed itself continually. She set her teeth and headed out of the door, bolting it behind her. The nearest Warp Star was… oh, dear. Somewhere in Whispy Woods. This could take some adventuring.

Lucky turned right back around. When she left her house for the second time, she had a determined look and was wielding a rolled-up newspaper.

"Don't ask" might be good advice at this point.


	9. Nova

Hard at work with the newspaper, Lucky was tiring. Her makeshift weapon was torn and weakened in places, as well as partially charred at the edges where she'd just managed to avoid a fire monster in time. Paper was a terrible choice for a weapon usually, but for some reason Lucky felt better with this than with a sword. She'd tried a sword once. It had felt clumsy and heavy and try as she might, she couldn't land a hit on a sleeping Waddle Dee.

She whipped round just at the right second to swing heavily at a lesser monster that had tried to sneak up behind her. An apple fell beside her and she eyed it suspiciously. All at once, a booming voice issued out of the tree behind her.

"You are in my domain. Leave now, or suffer the consequences."

"Whispy, I presume," she muttered irritably, turning to face the great tree. "I mean no harm. A friend is in danger, and I must get to the Warp Star just past this area of the forest."

"You," the tree growled, "you led the monsters into these woods."

"No."

"Whether or not it was an accident, you must be punished."

"No thanks."

"What d'you mean, 'no thanks'? It was a statement, not an offer!"

"I'm busy. Give me a second." Lucky turned as if to smack the Scarfy about to bite her arm, then feinted and lunged forwards, dodging past Whispy and making a daring leap for the Warp Star hidden just behind him.

"Hey! Get back here!" Apples rained down at her, but within seconds she'd kick-started the Warp Star and was flying at mach speeds towards the sky.

_Destination… _She thought hard for a moment. _Nova._ She felt the star change direction very slightly in mid-air, and after a few split seconds she had to cling tightly to her hat and to the star in order to keep everything together. It seemed to put on a boost of speed, and then they were drifting noiselessly through space. It seemed so dark and cold out here… And yet, the lack of wind rushing around her was disturbing. At least now she didn't have to hold on so tightly.

Meta Knight joined her after a while, Kirby alongside him, each on their own Warp Stars that they'd gathered separately. Nothing was said, and they merely nodded to each other.

---

Lucky didn't keep track of how long she'd been on the star. Maybe minutes, maybe hours. It was hard to tell in space; and she thought she might have drifted in and out of sleep for a while. Still, looking behind her, she couldn't see Popstar. Wait, was that it? There was a tiny dot of gold somewhere in the blackness back there.

_Wham._

The Warp Stars slammed on the brakes, pressing Lucky against hers because of her momentum, and she applied a vicelike grip to its edges to avoid slipping away from it. The stars switched to a slower, 'cruising' speed, and she regained control of hers just enough to stand up shakily and look ahead.

Nova loomed in front of her. The star slowed again, finally coming to a halt.

_Oh, wow. Nova looks kind of broken._ It was true; the huge meteor had parts of its clockwork missing, it was covered in dents, and she didn't even _want _to know what it looked like on the inside.

Meta Knight eased his star forwards a little. "Nova. Awaken."

There followed an uneasy silence. Kirby, nonplussed, waved enthusiastically to Lucky. She smiled a little, though if she was honest with herself she wasn't ready to make friends with the puffball who'd hurt her friend – even if Marx _had _been completely out of it at the time.

"No-va?" Kirby called out. The meteor did nothing. It was just kind of floating there, moving very slowly away from them without anything in its way. This explained why it was so far from Popstar now; it had been repelled by the sun and moon, and when Marx struck it, Nova had just been forced even further away. "…Poyo."

Lucky set her teeth. Clearly neither of these two had any idea how to wake up a wish-granting super-powerful being. Piece of cake. She leapt from her Warp Star, and crashed into the side of the comet. Seconds passed, and she clung to it as best she could to avoid being left in space.

Then, suddenly, Nova's eyes opened. Fragments of sound emitted from it, a mess of static and noise and a trace of a voice somewhere, then ceased abruptly.

"Broken, huh? No kidding." She pushed down onto Nova, forcing herself further up and then took a seat on the very top of the comet. Nova eyed her with a look that was _almost _annoyance. "You have Marx. Or part of him, anyway."

More garbled nonsense, ending in a flash of white noise that hurt her brain.

"Let him go."

"-heart-" And then more noise.

"Poyo?" Kirby angled his Warp Star towards Lucky and drifted beside her, a questioning look on his face. Meta Knight seemed to be thinking things over.

"Kirby, what does Nova mean by 'heart'?"

"…Poy…?" He seemed to freeze for a moment, then a triumphant look appeared on his face. "Poyo poyo!" he yelled frantically, leaping off the star to grab her hand. He ran down the side of Nova – gravity apparently wasn't an issue here – and vanished through a fissure. Lucky had about five nanoseconds to realise she was still attached to him by the arm before she was dragged inside against her will.

"Kirby! What in the name of- ouch!" She tripped and hit a wall. Kirby tugged at her, worried she might be hurt, but she waved him away. "Do you know where we're going?"

"Poy." He nodded.

"Good. Now I'll actually follow you without fear that you've misread the situation and think we're playing a game."

Wait… Game? Kirby let out a cry of joy and tagged her, fleeing along the corridor. Lucky stifled an expletive and ran after him.

Meanwhile, Meta Knight reached into his cape and pulled out a stack of miniature, coloured stars. He spread them across his hands as if they were a pack of cards, and looked from them to Nova and back again.

The comet stared back at him blankly. It almost seemed as if the damn thing was being stubborn.


	10. Heart

Lucky sped after Kirby as fast as she could go, but the little Star Warrior was just too fast. She dodged a piece of falling metal. "Kirby! It's dangerous in here! Nova is too broken up!"

"Poyo!" Upon realising she'd stopped following him, he turned round and stamped a foot. Kirby waved behind him, gesturing towards a door.

"I don't know the way out of here. We were going too fast."

Was she ignoring him? Kirby made a decision and sprang towards Lucky, grabbing her hat and making off with it in the blink of an eye. Lucky growled and, though completely breathless by this point, she threw herself after him and made it through the door just as a spring came loose on the ceiling somewhere and a large piece of gold plating crashed down behind her, blocking the exit.

"Damn it!" She tried pushing on it, losing interest in her hat, but it wouldn't budge an inch. "Gold's so damn heavy. Kirby, I bet you couldn't move it either. Not even if we worked together." She felt a rising panic.

"Poy poyo." She eyed him critically. The little pink warrior seemed completely determined.

"…Fine. We keep going." It was only at this point that she actually looked around at the room they were in. It was a fairly huge room, with pillars of machinery with sliding bars on them. Nothing seemed to be switched on except for the centre core, which had… a floating heart in it.

"Poyo!"

"Yes, I see it. So this is what Nova meant. You _do _know what we're doing here, after all."

Kirby looked blank and shuffled to one side. She facepalmed, and snatched her hat back from him.

"Wow. You really did a number on this thing, eh?" The room was scorched from explosions and other malfunctions, and the pillars around the edges were smashed and unstable. One of them seemed to be glowing, however. Even as she watched, she could see part of it reforming.

The pillar completed itself, and the heart flashed once before another pillar began to glow.

"Oh. This is… This is what Nova is doing. Fixing itself. I think it must be why it didn't work for Meta Knight. The, er, circuit is all buggered up." Circuit? It didn't feel right in the context of clockwork. She didn't know enough about this.

Suddenly, she felt ridiculously dizzy. Sitting down quickly, she wondered what that strange feeling was in her head. It didn't hurt… Well, not physically, anyway. It was so confusing. What was going on?

Her thoughts turned into meaningless babble for a while as she tried to sort out what was happening.

"Poyo?" The voice sounded as though it were miles away. "Po_yo_…" It faded into nothing. Lucky's vision went black.

"…Lu-?" The voice sounded familiar somehow, but it ended in static that made it unintelligible. "Lucky?"

"…Who…?"

"Lucky! Where-" Fzzt.

_Wait. I know that voice. _"Marx? Marx, where are you?"

"Nova-"

Everything ceased. She felt as though she'd woken up from a dream. Everything was so colourful, so vivid. She realised this was just how it had looked before, but it filled her with a feeling of relief to be back in the real world.

"Poyo?!"

"Argh… It's okay, Kirby, I'm fine. Get off!" she hissed, batting comically at the pink puffball's busying hands which prodded at her side. "I'm fine. I just collapsed for a moment. I think Marx is… close."

Kirby nodded, then bounded over to the heart in the centre of the room. He reached up as if to touch it, but it was as if he suddenly got an electric shock from the air around it. The warrior leapt backwards and stuck his hand in his mouth, looking upset.

"What happened?" She ran up to him, suddenly feeling bad for having been prejudiced against the little puffball. Kirby withdrew his hand again and examined it. No difference, of course, but this just made him confused as to why it had hurt.

"Let me try." Lucky stretched out to try and make contact with the heart. A smaller zap issued into her hand and she yelped. "Ouch!" At that moment, her vision dimmed again.

"(static) – is that… Is that y-" Marx was cut off again. Lucky once more saw the room swim into view, and she gritted her teeth.

"I hope this works."

The sky-blue puffball shut her eyes and set her stance. She took a deep breath and plunged both hands through the crackling airspace around the heart, taking hold of the edges and wrenching it free of the pillar. Shocks of pain ran straight through her, and Kirby backed away fearfully. She heard him shout something. Probably 'poyo'.

Lucky blacked out.


	11. Soul

Lucky awoke in pitch blackness. She felt like she was floating. A bit like the first time Marx had appeared in her dream.

Speaking of whom… The black-and-white image of Marx was drifting silently in the darkness about ten metres away. He seemed to be unconscious, unlike last time, and the image kept blurring, then reforming again.

Nova's voice echoed into her mind.

"YOU SEEK MARX. "

She cleared her throat uneasily. "Yes."

"HIS LIFE FORCE IS MINE. " The image blurred again, and Marx came dangerously close to vanishing. "UNTIL THE CAPABILITY TO GRANT WISHES IS RETURNED, THIS WILL REMAIN A FACT. "

"I don't think there's enough energy left in him for that," she snapped, becoming more and more edgy every passing second.

"THEN MARX WILL BE NO MORE. "

Even as Nova spoke, Marx's limp form began to dissolve into the blackness. Lucky blinked, then made her final decision.

"Wait, Nova! …Let me take his place."

"WISHES CANNOT BE GRANTED IN THIS STATE. "

She shook her head. "It's not a wish. It's a command. Since it's a technical thing that will aid you to grant wishes in the first place, you should by rights do as I say."

"THIS LOGIC SEEMS SOUND. OK! TRANSFERRING… "

Lucky relaxed completely as her vision began to fade completely. She shut her eyes just as Marx vanished.

---

Birdsong! Sound, instead of just endless silence! Marx's eyes flickered open. He found himself leaning against a pillow in Lucky's house. It felt so strange to be seeing colours and movement again.

Marx eased himself off the bed, slipping down to the floor and glancing around. Even just the knowledge that he was _awake _was enough to make him both shocked and overjoyed.

Still, he felt that he was forgetting something. He thought back to why he had been stuck in that strange limbo place anyway. Nova, and energy transferral. So why had he woken up? Was Nova fixed now?

No, he was certain he wouldn't exist any more if Nova had actually finished. So why…?

"Lucky?" No answer. "Anyone?" Still silence. He stepped out of the house. There was a faint creak from the garden gate, which had been left open carelessly. Marx wandered from the house in a daze. He had a terrible feeling that Lucky had pulled some kind of dumb stunt to free him from Nova.

He reached the coast in about an hour, having walked slowly to deal with his thoughts. The sun was sinking just below the horizon, and he realised how calm everything was now that it was all over.

---

The next day, Kirby returned to Popstar. He looked the same as always, but somehow he seemed saddened by something. Marx approached him, but the puffball flinched away and looked as if he were about to flee.

"Cool it, I'm not gonna fire lasers at you any more. I'm a different person now, okay? Think of it that way."

Kirby hesitated, then flung himself at Marx, hugging him tightly.

"Kay."

"Argh. Okay. Get off. What's wrong, anyway?" He stepped back and the pink blob slid to the floor in a seated position.

"Lu-kyo."

"Lucky?"

"Poyo."

Marx blinked in confusion for a moment, then demanded an explanation. "What happened? What did she do?"

Kirby wiped tears away and shook his head slowly. "Trade-pyo…"

"She… she didn't. Did she? She wouldn't even be that brave normally. She wouldn't switch places with me if she knew she was gonna… No."

"Poyo…"

"Damn it," he muttered, beginning to shake slightly. "_Damn it._" Marx turned and fled, heading for the coast again. His thoughts turned backwards and he tried to ignore the puzzle pieces that were automatically fitting themselves together in his head. Instead, he found himself realising that he'd never actually seen the inside of the cave where Lucky's little stash of books was kept.

Marx found a vine, tied it to a tree near the cliff, and with the end gripped in his teeth he abseiled over the edge. He made it inside fairly easily.

Normally, he'd have been astonished by the amount of books that were kept here. Now, he just felt too numb for that.

One thing that did attract his attention, however, was a kind of desk cut into the rock at the back of the cave. Upon approaching it, he realised this was where Lucky kept her diary.

_Do I read it?_

Not even a question worth asking.

Marx leapt onto the rock shelf and flipped through the pages until he came to the date they'd first met.


	12. Diary

Author's Note – I don't want to put dates because Popstar most likely doesn't use our timeline. So instead, I'm writing it as numbered days from where Marx began reading. Just keep in mind that this format isn't the way Lucky actually wrote the dates. 3

***

Day 1

_Met a guy called Marx today. He lost something. I told myself I'd find that ball, and I will. I help when I can, even if I don't know the person I'm helping. It's in my nature, I think. Anyway, he seemed super upset and I can't just stand by when I could help. It had better not be dangerous, though. No way am I going right through a monster-infested area just to find this thing. Well, we'll see when I get there._

_Day 2_

_Found it (finally!). It took about two-thirds of today and all of yesterday, but I finally got directions from Coo the owl. She said she saw some monsters playing with a beach ball near Butter Building. For goodness' sake, it's too far to walk. I took a Warp Star. I hate how they stop suddenly when they get to their destination. Shook me right off, and I had to walk back with this bloody ball in front of me. At least the monsters had gotten bored of it and left by the time I got there._

_Day 3_

_I told Marx about my library yesterday. He seemed to like the lollipop, too. I think I made a new friend. Anyway, turns out he's looking for Nova. I remember having a book around here somewhere with a picture of a comet in it, and I think it fit his description perfectly. I'll give him the book if I can find it. Will return later today, but I'll have Marx with me so I won't have time to update this diary._

_Day 4_

_Fright of my life yesterday. Nearly fell to my doom. I couldn't possibly let go of the book, though; I don't know why, but I felt like it was utterly important that I gave it to Marx. Meta Knight saved the day, though, which was scary enough on its own. I also have an ominous feeling about that book. Wishes lead to trouble. I hope Marx realises that._

_Day 5_

_Marx is staying with me. Turns out he travels a lot, but now that he's found that book about Nova I can understand why he'd want to stick around. There aren't any hotels around here, and if I can admit it, it's kind of lonely out here on my own. Nice and quiet, of course, but still, it's nice to have a visitor._

_Day 6_

_I wonder if he's like this all the time. Completely fixated on his goal. If he's not, then I probably have reason to worry._

_Anyway, I went into Cappy Town today and saw King Dedede get booed off a stage by the villagers. Which was quite funny, I'll admit. No one likes that king._

_Day 7_

_D-3 got his revenge today. Set a bunch of Scarfies on the village. They ate pretty much everything not nailed down. Kirby got rid of them. That kid's adorable. In a strange way, I feel like I should look after him. He's only little and yet he has so much to live up to._

_Also, Marx is being boring again. All he does is sit inside and read._

_Day 8_

_Confronted Mr Smart Alec about his reading habits. He didn't seem too happy. I thought for a minute he was going to shout at me. He had this scary look in his eyes, as if he really hated me. But then he cooled off all of a sudden, as if he realised what he was doing, and then just kind of left the house and wandered off._

_Stayed inside today. Didn't feel like going out._

_Day 9_

_Played hide-and-seek with some Waddle Dees in the meadow for about two hours. It was pretty fun. Saw the one with the sailor hat standing nearby, just watching us. I asked if he wanted to play, but he just got all embarrassed and ran off towards the Halberd. I bet he has duties there that he really wanted to abandon, just for a while._

_I didn't see Marx today. I don't think he finished the book yet._

_Day 10_

_Disaster strikes yet again. It seems Popstar can't stay peaceful for more than a couple of months. The sun and moon are fighting each other. Every few seconds it changes from light to dark and vice versa. It gave me a headache at first, but now I'm kind of used to it. Kirby's gone off to sort them out somehow. I didn't stay in Cappy Town long enough to find out._

_Day 16_

_Marx has been keeping a close eye on Kirby. I asked him about it, but he kept avoiding the subject. Haven't written any diary entries for a few days because there's not much new to report. Sun and moon still fighting. Marx getting more and more edgy._

_Day 17_

_Marx left. I know his plan entirely now. I just needed the last hint to figure him out. He made the sun and moon fight. He made Kirby go gather stars to summon Nova. He will steal Kirby's wish. And then… Actually, I don't know what will happen next. I'm not going to get my hopes up. I warned him about what happens to people who made wishes in stories, but he seemed to dismiss them as just that – stories. I know better. Stories can be true._

_Day 18_

_I told him._

_Day 19_

_Revenge didn't work out either. I __**told **__him._

_Day 20_

_I suppose I should get on with life. It's depressing. But I'll go to Cappy Town, restock the cupboards. The usual boring stuff. It'll take my mind off things._

_Day 21_

_Marx is alive._

_As amazing as this is, I have work to do just to make sure he's okay. He can stay in my bed until he gets better._

_Day 23_

_Spent all of yesterday looking after Marx. Haven't slept a wink, but he woke up today so it's worth the effort. I'm still worried, though. He seemed so depressed. He truly regrets what he's done._

_He's not himself, either; and for different reasons, I fear._

_Day 26_

_Took 'Pursuit' to the Cappy Town librarian in the hopes that he could translate it. I think it might explain what's wrong with Marx._

_Saw that Waddle Dee in town again. He was following Meta Knight. I found this vaguely interesting because he fell over and Meta Knight just kind of stopped walking and waited for him to sort himself out. The Waddle Dee looked really scared of him. I can't tell if MK was annoyed of not because of that mask. I got the feeling that he was._

_Day 27_

_Bad news. Marx's soul is being sapped by Nova. It's complicated. He won't wake up any more and his eyes are grey._

_MK visited today too. Wanted to see Marx because Nova wouldn't respond to his wish. I explained. We meet very soon to go sort this out once and for all. I'm terrified, to be honest. I don't do adventuring. It scares me witless. I was scared the day I had to find that ball, too, but this is worse. We're confronting a comet with unlimited magical power. I think Nova has a consciousness. I'll cross that bridge when it comes to it._

_I need to go pretty much _now_. I'm scared. I don't know if I'll even go through with this._

_No. I'll pull myself together. I'm doing this for Marx._


	13. Captain

Marx turned the page over. This one was blank, and as he leafed through, so were the rest. He stepped backwards slowly. He'd known, of course, that she wasn't coming back. But the blank pages seemed like the absolute final confirmation of that. Tears fell to the floor.

_What have I done?_

"Marx."

He turned. It was Meta Knight, flanked by Sword Knight and Blade Knight. His usually bright yellow eyes softened to a paler shade.

"Y… Yes?"

"You shouldn't be invading her privacy like this, you know." He turned and stared back out at the ocean. The tide had apparently come in since Marx started reading, and a spray of salty mist from the waves below fizzed up at the cave entrance. "She's still got a consciousness, so technically she might still become angered at you for reading her diary."

Marx paused. "How'd you know it was her diary?"

Meta Knight hesitated for a moment. "Fine. It seems my guise is too easily seen through nowadays. I've read it too." He smiled, eyes glowing a rose-pink colour. "And I think it proves she was ready to make her sacrifice. Don't you?"

Marx opened his mouth, as if about to make a retort, but the anger dissipated from his eyes quickly. Meta Knight was right. There was no point in arguing.

"I have to go," he choked, gripping the end of the vine in his teeth and swinging deftly over to the top of the cliff.

Meta Knight stood up. "We should leave too."

"What do we do about the books? The typical thing would be to burn everything, so that she-"

"-Can rest in peace, I know. But she's not exactly dead. Maybe one day she will return here, though she will be very much changed by Nova's power… and if that day comes, the books and the diary must remain… for her to remember."

"You don't seem too hopeful about that, sir."

"Yes, well." Leaving his statement open to question, Meta Knight leapt over the edge of the cliff and spread his wings, hovering just by the entrance. "Send out a search party for that Waddle Dee. I won't have rumours that I don't look after my own." He shot off through the sky towards the Halberd.

---

Phantom-grey eyes opened in the darkness. The faint jingle of her hat as she turned was comforting, though she understood that this feeling would fade after a while. There had always been confusion regarding her name. Now it seemed she had almost forgotten it. It was all she had left of her memories.

She could feel Nova sapping everything – all of her knowledge, all of her strength…

But her heart remained, of course. Her sense of self.

There was a long silence.

---

The Waddle Dee captain stood quietly in the circular room, gazing thoughtfully at the heart floating in the centre. The Warp Star he'd arrived on was long gone, meaning he had no easy ride home. Still, it had been worth it. He'd found her.

"LEAVE THIS PLACE. MORE TIME IS REQUIRED BEFORE REPAIRS ARE COMPLETE. "

The Waddle Dee glanced behind him at the sheet of gold metal that was blocking the door. He'd managed to squeeze past it, and it was one of the few times he was glad to be small in size.

Still, Nova hadn't exactly made it hard to get here. All the traps were temporarily disabled until it had finished rebuilding itself.

Speaking of which, he decided to get to work. His master had worked long and hard for his wish, and the further delays were making him… edgy, to say the least.

Captain, as everyone seemed to be calling him nowadays, ran over to one of the columns that was unstable and broken. He set down the toolbox and got to work.

And then, of course, there was the matter of the lucky one. She had surely known that Nova needed more than her life force could give, just to repair itself. But she'd done it anyway.

So if she was to be spared, then Captain would have to work fast. Complete Nova, before Nova finished with the lucky puffball. Wait, was 'Lucky' her name, or what?

Captain shook his head free of these confusing thoughts and within an hour he'd fixed the column.

Who else had wanted a wish? Oh, there was that Marx person. But he'd already had his, now, hadn't he.

The Waddle Dee wiped his brow, beginning to tire, but he pressed on and moved to the next column round. This one was the only broken one left, and it seemed to be engulfed in light. He faltered, hefting the heavy toolbox in both hands as he decided what to do.

Of course, there were repairs elsewhere. Nova didn't look as banged up on the outside as he'd thought – gravity had seen to it that all the necessary parts had been recovered – but on the inside, there wasn't a single passageway that hadn't caved in somewhere. Captain took his tools outside of the room, giving one last glance back at the mysterious floating heart shape. No more, though. He had work to do, and it all depended on him.


	14. Forgotten

_I can't just sit and do nothing. It _was _her choice, but there has to be a better way. _Marx leapt for the Warp Star, and landed on it perfectly. Years of balancing on that ball had made him an expert with Warp Stars, and he steered it towards space with a determined feeling beginning to rise in his mind. Space enveloped him quickly, freezing cold and clinging, but he didn't flinch.

_Find Nova, _he commanded the star. It faltered for a moment, which was worrying, then kicked into action and sped up almost to the sound barrier. He almost lost his footing, but managed to stay on the star long enough to get steady.

Within minutes, the star screeched to a halt and flung him straight off. With a jolt, he realised just how far Nova was from Popstar now if the Warp Stars couldn't even get close. He turned to watch the star behind him grow smaller, nothing preventing him from continuing his drift through the emptiness. The Warp Star looked as if it were trying to follow, but was prevented from doing so by an invisible barrier. It couldn't go any further from its original location.

Marx watched it turn and zip off back in the opposite direction, and resigned himself to simply waiting it out. Movement never ceased without reason in space. So, since he was going in the right direction…

Hours later, he caught up with Nova. The sight of the vast golden comet sent an involuntary shudder though him, but he had the knowledge that he wouldn't make the same mistake again.

His foot connected with the side of the comet, and he used his momentum to run the rest of the way around to the side. He could feel Nova's eyes following him, but he ignored it and dodged into an opening.

And then smashed straight into a Waddle Dee holding a jack.

"Augh! What the…" The Waddle Dee blinked at him for a few seconds, and he stared back. Hang on, he recognised that hat it was wearing. "Hey, you're Meta Knight's captain, aren't you?"

It seemed to sigh and plucked the sailor cap from its head, brushing dust off it self-consciously and replacing it again. It picked up the jack it had dropped and checked to make sure it still worked.

"They're all looking for you, you know." It gave him a reproachful look, and he read its expression. "…No… I doubt there'd be anyone looking for me. I did some bad stuff. I'm trying to find someone, though…"

The Waddle Dee waved a hand in front of him quickly, interrupting him, and pointed down the corridor before running in that direction. Marx took off after it.

"Wait! You know where she is?"

He followed the Waddle Dee through several different passageways and doorways before it finally dodged under a golden blockade that seemed to have fallen from the ceiling. Marx skidded to a halt, only just stopping himself from careening onto the floor.

"I can't get through here," he called. Marx needn't have worried. The Waddle Dee shoved the jack under the piece of metal and cranked it up until the golden slab all but slid away from the door. "Thanks…"

He stepped through the doorway and into the room. His eyes were drawn to a point in the centre…

---

She was… incapacitated, to say the least. Her body remained slumped uselessly against the centre column, but her consciousness was elsewhere.

All she knew was… someone had entered the room. And it wasn't the small entity who had been fixing Nova.

She sensed his spirit, and was surprised to find that there was barely any of it left. But what remained was… red and blue. Odd. Who was he?

No matter.

He was an intruder.

_Nova._

_Destroy him._

"YOU ARE TRESPASSING. "

"…Nova?" Marx stepped forwards, staring around the room in shock.

"LEAVE NOW, BEFORE YOU ARE FORCED TO LEAVE. "

"I… I returned for Lucky. Isn't there anything-"

"LUCK…?" The voice seemed more metallic than it should have been, and faded into silence just before it finished.

Lu…

Something made sense.

Something else didn't.

That's… my name. Isn't it?

Nova awaited her command. She had fused with its consciousness but in doing so Nova had become hers.

_Aim. Make him speak._

Marx winced as a heavy metal barrier slammed down from the doorframe behind him. He didn't turn. The laser target focused right on him that had extended down from the ceiling at much the same time had taken his attention away from the exit.

"I…" He cleared his throat nervously. The Waddle Dee had apparently not been subjected to this. Maybe because it had proven right from the start that it was there to aid repairs. It dashed behind him and clung to the red side of his jester hat looking terrified. "…I know you have Lucky."

"ELABORATE. "

"She sacrificed herself for me. I know she's here somewhere." _It'll just take some finding, _he told himself. "You know me, too. I wished here."

"YES, MARX. I REMEMBER, OF COURSE…" Nova faltered again. Lucky's spirit had made it forget about Marx. But why? This was becoming tiresome.

_You obey me._

NOVA IS A SEPARATE ENTITY.

"Nova?" No response. There was an electric feeling in the air as Lucky and Nova fought for control. "Lucky?"

_Wait. I remember his voice. The way he said it. Asking if I was there. This is the wrong way around. He was here, before. Am I making sense any more?_

"Who am I?"

Marx blinked. He understood now. Lucky had lost herself. Forgotten everything. "Lucky… Leave Nova now. The captain can fix everything manually. I'll help. Nova, let her go."

"ERROR. "

"Wha-?"

In an instant, Lucky sat up straight, breathing heavily as if she'd just awakened from a nightmare. Her eyes were open, but they were no longer amber as he remembered them. Instead, they were just a faded burnt umber.

"CAPTAIN WILL CONTINUE REPAIRS. LUCKY WILL STAY TO HELP. "

Lucky stood up shakily. "…Huh…?"

Marx stared at her for a minute, and she gazed back in fear. The Waddle Dee decided enough was enough, and shoved Marx towards her before grabbing a spanner and trotting off to fix Nova elsewhere.

"..Lucky, are you alright?" _I can't believe this is over, just like that. Did my being here trigger her to wake up?_

"Lucky…? Is that who I am?"

Marx paled and stepped towards her. "Y-yeah… don't you remember?"

"…I do now. I think." She pulled at the end of her hat, bringing the bell in front of her face. It tinkled hauntingly, and she smiled. "I like this. It's mine, right?"

"….Uh… you really don't remember anything, do you." He'd given up speaking this as a question by now. "Yeah, it's yours."

"Good. And the cute little wings, too, I guess?" Marx nodded, and she looked reassured. "Oh, but… who are you? And where am I?"

The jester-hatted person seemed to give her a despairing look, then finally he lapsed into resigned acceptance.

"I'm… I'm Marx. Glad to meet you." Why did this feel so terrible? He knew that her remembering anything about him would just upset him, and she'd probably never believe him anyway. Still, it felt like… He didn't know what to compare it to. "We're inside a big, broken… uh… starship." _Real smooth. _"We should go. The… The captain doesn't want us here. Isn't that right, Captain?"


	15. Forgiven

I stared at the two odd people for a while, just looking from one to the other. Then I realised. The jester guy wanted me to lie for him.

Whatever. I stood to attention, screwdriver hidden behind my back, and fixed them with a stern gaze. I suppose I looked like I owned the place. I hope so.

I seemed to be convincing the girl, but it was a long shot and we knew it.

"He's… a captain?"

Oh, come _on. _Surely I don't look _that _pathetic. I remembered my sailor hat, and quickly swapped it for a royal blue admiral's hat that I pulled from hammerspace (that means I got it from nowhere… we Waddle Dees work in mysterious ways). Then I nodded at her curtly.

"Uh… Sorry, sir, I didn't mean to cause trouble if I fell asleep in your way." She made a sort of curtsey gesture, and I waved one arm towards the door. "Okay. We'll be leaving now. Thank you."

The jester guy ushered her through the door, mouthing a silent 'thank you' to me as they left. I picked up the rest of my tools and get to work.

Later on, I found Lucky loitering about in confusion near one of the exits. Turns out she can't leave – it's like there's an invisible forcefield around Nova that lets everything through but her.

The jester had to leave, and he wouldn't tell her why. It didn't really look like a sorrowful exit, anyway. They 'didn't know each other' – so why should it be? He said a quick goodbye and he set off into space. Pity he didn't have a Warp Star. Stellar travel is so slow without one.

Lucky says that she'd like to meet him again someday, maybe get better acquainted with him. She talks about him a lot, but I suspect that over time the memory of him will become vaguer, just like anyone else you meet once.

Lucky really doesn't remember anything. She helped me fix Nova, though. Sir Meta Knight arrived a few days later and Nova granted his wish. I'm still waiting for him to get back. I know he'll return. I have faith in him.

But what will I do? Lucky and I… We're friends now. She talks a lot, and I'm silent, but somehow it works out just fine. She likes speaking. I like listening. The thing is, Meta Knight will want me back at his side. It's my duty…

No. It _was _my duty. My current duty is staying with Lucky. She's like a little kid now, only with no idea who she really is… All alone out here, unable to leave. It's not fair.

It doesn't matter what Sir Meta Knight says. He can threaten me all he wants, but I have to stay now, for her sake. He'll probably understand, though. Sir Meta Knight is very wise.

I understand why that jester couldn't tell her the truth. It would upset her. Frighten her, maybe. It's not likely that things could be the same again, even if her memory was triggered somehow. They both must move on.

And the jester has done her that small favour, anyway. Even if it hurt him to forget. Maybe he thinks of it as redemption for when his wish went wrong. A way of getting some kind of unspoken forgiveness.

Marx was his name. He isn't evil. Not really; because he has a heart. I know because when he left, I was watching it through his eyes. I saw it break.

_~Captain_


End file.
